Laura Powers is has a LOT going on. She’s got a new role as Co-CEO of RADTAC US, she got classes coming up AND she has sessions set for Agile 2017 and the Scrum Gathering in Dublin. In this podcast I had the chance to catch up with Laura and hear about all she has going on, and we got to dig into the sessions she’ll be presenting at Agile 2017 and the Scrum Gathering in Dublin.

SHOW NOTES

00:10 Interview Begins
01:03 Laura explains her new gig at Radtac US
02:15 Laura’s experience London following the recent attacks
02:56 Laura and Kim Brainard are giving some Training From the Back of the Room classes
05:03 Laura’s participation in the Women in Agile Event at Agile 2017
07:24 Laura’s talks at Agile 2017
07:48 What about The Power of Play?
14:12 The Difference between Culture and Climate
18:02 Laura’s upcoming session at the Scrum Gathering in Dublin and Say Yes to No!
19:50 Improv, the “Yes, and” culture and the Power of No
25:25 Saying YES! to more things than you can possibly do and how to fix that
27:58 Laura’s advice for newcomers attending Agile 2017
31:34 Getting in touch with Laura

Episode 4 of DrunkenPM Radio focuses on the impact of Gender Bias in the Project Management space. This episode consists of two interviews. The first is with a group of women who work in Digital Project Management (Larissa Scordato, Tera Caldwell Simon and Patrice Colancecco Embry). The second interview features Agile Coach Natalie Warnert. Warning - there are a few expletives in this one...

00:05 Intro
01:18 Women in Digital Project management Interview start and guest introductions
04:42 Meet the Dexters
05:25 Being a PM comes with challenges, does being a female PM carry additional challenges
9:38 Reaching out to your team for validation and support
12:08 Getting support may not fix the actual problem
13:50 How much does experience factor in
14:35 Does having a commanding presence only come with experience and how does gender impact your ability to take the room
16:46 Larissa is not sorry for interrupting
17:41 Letting your team take the floor
18:28 Note Taking
20:20 Generational gender bias
22:50 An apology is nice, a public apology is better
23:00 Advice for young women who are new to Project Management
24:05 Having difficult conversations and owning your role
24:40 The power of being knowledgable about your topic
26:00 The importance of assigning a notetaker
26:45 Getting a mentor
27:19 Know that you are good at what you do
27:35 How gender bias has an impact on your use of the phrase “I don’t know.”
29:30 When you get caught now knowing
30:09 Pretending to be brave enough / Imposter Syndrome
32:00 Taking care when you act “As if…”
33:30 “You’re either emotional, or your’e a bitch…”
35:20 Putting on the dominant female role and protecting your team
38:00 The “Sorry” thing
44:20 Advice for Men
46:10 Contacting Tera, Larissa and Patrice
46:40 Closing

47:07 Intro to the Interview with Agile Coach Natalie Warnert
47:50 Natalie’s involvement with Women in Agile
48:42 Women in Agile events are not just for women
49:27 Is it more difficult for a young woman to break into Agile
50:40 Behavior at a conferences
51:33 An example of differing standards
52:27 Gender bias, age bias and the Agile Coach
53:30 Women attendees at conferences
54:06 Advice for women entering the Agile space
55:35 Carrying yourself with confidence and owning it
56:00 Being more mindful of gender bias
57:31 What is an Aspiring Feminist?
60:10 Is the bias as significant in Agile as it is in waterfall?
61:20 Proving yourself
62:30 Support among women in Agile and at Agile conferences
65:00 Fighting over the slice of pie|
65:39 Not tracking gender at conferences
66:00 Tracking down Natalie